It's official. You have to lift up the mini to turn it on

[Fishrrman]

From reply 258 above:
"Many of those who hard shut down for their own strange reasons will be restarting via keyboard..."

That doesn't work any more. At least not for desktop Macs.

I have a 2018 Mini, and I use an ancient Macally USB keyboard with it. The power on button will still work to sleep, shut down or restart the Mac, but it won't power it on.

I'm guessing that's because external USB connections don't "come alive" until the Mac has begun the boot sequence. I don't own a bluetooth keyboard, but I'm thinking they work the same way?

I remember when you DID power up a Mac using the keyboard (back in the "ADB" days). I believe that even when powered off, the ADB circuit kept some kind of "trickle power" through the ADB bus, so that the keyboard power-on button would work.

Hmmm...
Mountain Life posted in #265:
"I have a Macally keyboard that has a power button on it above the num pad that turns on my current Mac Mini and MBA."

A Macally USB keyboard?
That powers up your Mini (what year is the Mini)?
How did you make that work?

I just...
- saved this post and shut down
- tried a repeated number of times to reboot by pressing the Macally's power on button
and...
- nothing.

Which Macally keyboard do you have?
This one is the "iMedia key" board with the two rows of buttons "on top".

 

[Bustermd]

It has long been a tradition among technology engineers to hide important stuff like switches, power ports and the like in inaccessible places. HP, particularly, had a habit of hiding the power switch in a new place for every new model of printer.

The only solution is to bring back the Big Red Switch, as found on the IBM PC Model 70, and stick it on the D*MM front!!!.

View attachment 2445101

It is rumoured that the engineer who designed this had his mechanical drawing pencil ceremoniously broken for breaking the sacred tradition of hiding all the good bits...

Mebbe some could come up with an image of a Mac Mini with a Big Red Switch on the front.

Noisy, wheezy beige-grey boxes with loud clackety-clack keyboards were the peak of personal computing and no one will convince me otherwise.

 

[xaanaax]

At that point they could have as well just replaced the button with a little hole in the front, like there is one the eject the SIM card tray, that way no one would press it by accident 😅
Just don’t put the hole under the Mac😅

How often do people use that button anyway? As you just press a keyboard to wake it up and then lock it/power off with a keyboard shortcut or you use a dropdown menu.

 

[ILoveCalvinCool]

After reading the last couple of pages of this thread, I am rooting for Apple to remove the power button entirely. I'm looking at my mini and realizing I cannot remember the last time I touched the power button. I would not even be sure where it was located (on the bottom already, for all I know), if it weren't for reading all of the rending of garments in here. Come on Apple, you know you hate buttons we don't need!

 

[ericwn]

No, it’s not.

Would you really forego buying an otherwise excellent computer, because you might have to operate a very slightly awkward button once every 3 months? If so, that would be your loss.

Well said. Personally I might have to switch the thing on just a handful of times in the years to come and could not be bothered less with this implementation.

 

[verymickey]

Makes you wonder if Apple pulled statistics/metrics on button pushes to make a final decision on relocating the button to the bottom. I never touch the power button on my Studio, but that's my experience.

lol which is more likely.. A) lets do research to make a data driven design decision. B) its pretty and saves us a nickel.

 

[Surrylic]

OH MY GOD ITS A DISASTER!!!!

Thanks, Apple. Now we have to lift up the smallest Mac ever made to turn it on. What's next – will we have to lift up the smallest iPhone ever made to turn it on?

I agree that people are being dramatic, but in reality this is a pretty stupid design. I, and many other people out there, have our teeny Mac Minis mounted to the back of our desks or monitors. They’re so small, and it looks great to have everything hidden away.

But that’s no longer possible if I have to lift up the computer to hit the power button. It’s a super weird design choice. A disaster? …no. Pretty annoying? Yes.

 

[macguru9999]

No, it’s not.

Would you really forego buying an otherwise excellent computer, because you might have to operate a very slightly awkward button once every 3 months? If so, that would be your loss.

Its a bit silly but I admit I use a MBP in clamshell so I have to open it up to turn it on. And yes I only turn it off when I go overseas so its on most of the time, too.

But if I buy a desktop I want a big shiny box so I know I am getting my money's worth !

One idea: buy one and mount it somehow in a tower, then use the rest of the case for thunderbolt drives ....

 

[dorsal]

Apple Mini stand $99 coming soon!

Optional wheels for $700.

 

[Starfia]

I agree that people are being dramatic, but in reality this is a pretty stupid design. I, and many other people out there, have our teeny Mac Minis mounted to the back of our desks or monitors. They’re so small, and it looks great to have everything hidden away.

I know because I'm one of them.

But that’s no longer possible if I have to lift up the computer to hit the power button. It’s a super weird design choice. A disaster? …no. Pretty annoying? Yes.

If I still wanted to mount mine, I assumed I'd use a trivial homemade tool to apply pressure to the button perhaps once a year; even a toothpick or a Q-Tip might do it. Seems like nothing compared to the effort involved in mounting it.

 

[Chuckeee]

I know because I'm one of them.



If I still wanted to mount mine, I assumed I'd use a trivial homemade tool to apply pressure to the button perhaps once a year; even a toothpick or a Q-Tip might do it. Seems like nothing compared to the effort involved in mounting it.

The other alternative is to mount it with the bottom facing out. Although it looses some aesthetic value (the metal top with the apple logo is nicer looking than the black base)

 

[Starfia]

The other alternative is to mount it with the bottom facing out. Although it looses some aesthetic value (the metal top with the apple logo is nicer looking than the black base)

Agreed. And if your opinion is…

… it looks great to have everything hidden away.

… then presumably nothing should even reach the point of "annoying"!

 

[Will Co]

I agree, it’s not a biggy. But really? Is this the Apple we know and love? The “Steve Jobs” Apple. From what I’ve read about the guy, someone showing him a prototype that had a button on the underside would likely have been thrown out the window. And rightly so. Buttons are there to be pressed. Maybe not often, but their very existence implies at least sometimes. So they do need to be accessible. It’s just bad design, and that’s dissatisfying.

I don’t need to own a new Mini. Would this stop me buying one? No. Would I be irked and dissatisfied every time I had to press the button? Yep. Is that how Apple want their customers to feel? Presumably not. So that leads me to conclude that in reality the message I should be taking from this is “we don’t care”. And that’s not a good look, Apple.

 

[Jack Burton]

It's just our luck that the power button is on the bottom of the heaviest mac ever made.

 

[Starfia]

I agree, it’s not a biggy. But really? Is this the Apple we know and love? The “Steve Jobs” Apple. From what I’ve read about the guy, someone showing him a prototype that had a button on the underside would likely have been thrown out the window. And rightly so. Buttons are there to be pressed. Maybe not often, but their very existence implies at least sometimes. So they do need to be accessible. It’s just bad design, and that’s dissatisfying.

I don’t need to own a new Mini. Would this stop me buying one? No. Would I be irked and dissatisfied every time I had to press the button? Yep. Is that how Apple want their customers to feel? Presumably not. So that leads me to conclude that in reality the message I should be taking from this is “we don’t care”. And that’s not a good look, Apple.

I'm really trying to see it. Slightly and momentarily lifting up a five-inch-square piece of metal and consciously feeling that I'm brimming with dissatisfaction. With what Shakespearean obscenity would I softly simmer?

The other supposed controversy is the Magic Mouse with the charging port on the underside – I suppose since they imagine using the mouse with a cable coming out the front? But the first-generation Magic Mouse didn't even have a charging port, and that was under Steve Jobs! Why was no one fired? Perhaps he was swapped with an impostor three years before his death?

 

[Sami13496]

In design, a “use case” refers to a specific way a user interacts with a system to achieve a goal. Prioritizing use cases involves assessing which interactions are most essential or frequent and focusing on those in the design process.

Regarding Apple’s decision to place the power button on the bottom of the new Mac Mini: Apple likely determined that physically pressing the power button is a rare use case. Therefore, moving it to the bottom freed up space on the back for more important elements like ports. Design is all about trade-offs, emphasizing what’s most relevant for the user. Instead of just keeping the button where it’s always been, just because it’s always been there.

Now I don’t say this is an excuse for every strange design decision Apple has made. For example with Magic Mouse one would think that charging the mouse is pretty common use case…

But with the new Mac Mini power button placement kinda makes sense. Unless you’re one of those users who wants to power their device on and off all the time.

 

[Macalway]

You tilt it rather than lift it, big difference. Actually, the way it was with the flush button on back wasn't much fun. A lot of devices are a PITA with a back switch.

Anyways, mine is now preparing to ship so I can no longer cancel because of this terrible flaw.

 

[Chuckeee]

You tilt it rather than lift it, big difference.

The way people were talking, I thought you needed to juggle it one handed using your left hand, while rubbing your stomach with you right hand, while jumping on one foot while reciting “Mary had a Little Lamb” in you best soprano voice, in Hungarian while facing southeast.

 

[DCIFRTHS]

…But the first-generation Magic Mouse didn't even have a charging port..

Oh, the fist generation mouse with the replaceable batteries? That’s the one that didn’t have a built in rechargeable battery, right? Maybe I’m confused 🤔

 

[Starfia]

Oh, the fist generation mouse with the replaceable batteries? That’s the one that didn’t have a built in rechargeable battery, right? Maybe I’m confused 🤔

Yes, that one? You seem confused, but I'm not sure why.

 

[amancalledsun]

“Hey, Tim!”

”What is it, master designer of the Mac mini power button?”

”If I put the power button on the bottom and people have to lift the mini to turn it on about once a month or so, we’ll get tons of press from YouTubers, Apple Haters, and thousands of posts talking about Apple for the 10-12 years if we use this design. Do you approve?”

”Approved. It worked for the rechargeable Magic Mouse, didn’t it?”

(USB-C mouse designer enters and immediately leaves the room.)

I suspect the exact opposite of this happened. Probably more like:
“Hey Master designer of the Mac mini power button!”

“Yes, Tim?”

“Can we save $0.000003 per unit by not cutting another hole in the back and having to attach wiring to it during manufacturing to add a button on the back? Could we stick it in the bottom so the whole thing is already assembled when it gets put in the case?”

“Uh, that would be weird and not user-friendly, but if you want the extra $0.000003 per unit we can probably convince people that the button really only ever needs to be pressed once, the first time you turn it on…”

 

[NewOldStock]

Red Blinky light in the button would be awesome to keep this post going...lol ha ha ha..
Or a nice bright blue one like lot of other electronics coming out where you have to put tape over it to keep you from blinding.
That's right Folks they do it so you can post 50 thousand times and go nowhere and they sit back and laugh.

 

[macguru9999]

Maybe it's been designed by an AI Bot that does not know the thickness of human fingers .....

 

[ericwn]

I agree, it’s not a biggy. But really? Is this the Apple we know and love? The “Steve Jobs” Apple. From what I’ve read about the guy, someone showing him a prototype that had a button on the underside would likely have been thrown out the window. And rightly so. Buttons are there to be pressed. Maybe not often, but their very existence implies at least sometimes. So they do need to be accessible. It’s just bad design, and that’s dissatisfying.

I don’t need to own a new Mini. Would this stop me buying one? No. Would I be irked and dissatisfied every time I had to press the button? Yep. Is that how Apple want their customers to feel? Presumably not. So that leads me to conclude that in reality the message I should be taking from this is “we don’t care”. And that’s not a good look, Apple.

I’m pretty sure Jobs would have loved it, or he would have ordered to remove the button entirely. Let the thing always run. Either way, since I will likely have to press this only a handful of times over the product lifecycle I am really just microscopically annoyed.

 

[macdaddy43]

I personally volunteer to come over to your house and back-breakingly pick up the giant piece of machinery when you want to turn it on once a year. I’ll donate my back as a good deed to you.